Coin-counting machine



P 1944. J. N. FRANCIS 2,357,391

COIN COUNTING MACHINE Original Filed Feb. 15, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet l v Sept. 5,1944. J. N. FRANCIS 2,357,391

COIN COUNTING MACHINE Original Filed Feb. 15, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 l/argv Z/mmr Z a may Sept; 5, 1944. J c 2,357,391

COI N COUNTING MACHINE Original Filed Feb. 15, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet s Y JrZawiZF Sept. 5, 1944. J. N. FRANCIS COIN COUNTING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Original Filed Feb. 154 1941 IIIIEIIEIEIIEJIEI IEQIEIBIEJIBI ji zww Patented Sept. 5, 1944 2,357,391 COIN-COUNTING MACHINE Joseph N. Francis, Woburn, Mass., assignor to Sattley Company, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Original application February 15, 1941, Serial No. 379,007. Divided and this application February 24, 1943, Serial No. 476,932

4 Claims.

counting mechanisms so that reliance on centrifugal force for actuation thereof is unnecessary.

A further object is to so control the passage of coins that accurate counting is assured.

For a more complete understanding of this invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a sorting and counting machine embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the machine.

Figure 3 is a front elevation of a portion of the machine, the front cover being removed and the machine parts being shown to a larger scale than in Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view on of Figures 2 and 3.

Figures 5 and 6 are detail sectional views on the correspondingly numbered section lines of Figures 3 and '7, respectively.

Figure 6a, is a fragmentary perspective view of certain of the coin handling mechanism.

line 4-4 Figure 7 is a detail sectional view on line '|'l of Figure 5.

The machine as shown comprises a bed frame I having a steeply inclined wall portion 2 (say, 30 from the vertical) having a circular opening 3 therethrough. This opening is bridged by a spider 4 having a ring portion 5 secured as by screws 6 to the wall member 2 about the circumference of the opening 3, and extending from this ring portion inwardly are supporting arms 1 coming together in a hub portion through which is journaled a shaft 8. This shaft is secured to the central portion ofa turntable disk I0 positioned within the opening 3, the front face of this disk being substantially flush with the forward face of the wall 2. The turntable disk ID has secured to its forward face a hardened wear plate H provided around its periphery with a series of rounded notches l2 each of sufficient size to receive therein a coin of the largest diameter of those intended to be sorted by the machine. The plate l'l may be quite thin and in order to provide coin-receiving depressions of sufficient depth to securely hold a single coin of any of the dimensions desired to be handled, there may be provided individually blocks I5 which may be secured to the wear plate II and if desired, also, to the disk H) as by means of screws I 6. There are thus provided a circular series of coin-receiving depressions about the periphery of the-facing plate I l which isof somewhat smaller diameter than the turntable l0. Outwardly of these depressions and spaced somewhat therefrom are a series of side partition elements 20 which at their inner ends are secured to the top face of the turntable ID as by screws 2|, the outer ends of these partitions 20, however, extending beyond the periphery of the turntable I0 and overlyingthe stationary wall memher 2 adjacent thereto. In order to hold the outer end portions of these partition members in proper spaced relation, they may have secured thereto a spacing ring 22 as by the screws 23. These partition elements 20 are sufiiciently thick so as to provide between them passages within which the coins may pass in a single layer and these passages form discharge passages for the coin-receiving depressions in the turntable. They are, however, spaced from the outer edges of these depressions sufficiently to receive between them the lower end of a stationary blocking partition 25 which extends between the coin-receiving depressions and the discharge passages from a point closely adjacent to the lowest portion of the turntable as at 26 (see Figure '7), upwardly about that side of the turntable which is lifting during its rotation.

As shown the turntable is intended to be rotated in clockwise direction as viewed from the front, as indicated by the arrow at in Figures 3 and 7, so that the partition member 25 extends from the point 25 between the coin-receiving depressions of the turntable and the discharge passages up to beyond the highest portion of the turntable as at 21, as shown in Figure 3 and down on the other side to the point 219. From the point 21 to the point 26 on the down moving side of the turntable there is another partition member 21! which may be integral with the member 25 and disposed inwardly of the coinreceivi'ng depressions, being spaced from the face of the turntable adjacent to its ends sufliciently to clear the partition members 55 and being inclined inwardly and backwardly adjacent to the top face of the plate ll sufiicient to prevent the passage of coins between it and the plate II into the coin-receiving depressions. This partition 25 and the partition 2' are stationary and may be formed as a part of a cover member 28 which bridges over a portion of the forward face of the machine and is secured around its margin to the stationary portion 2 as by the screws 29. To its forward face may be secured a front hopper wall member 30 as by the screws 3|. The hopper formed by the wall member 30 and the turntable may receive a supply of coins which may be fed in from time to time as desired from a stationary loading platform 32 supported in any suitable way adjacent to the front of the machine and having a rim portion 33 cut away as at 34 to permit the coins to be moved therefrom into the hopper. As the turntable rotates, the coins therein may be picked up in the coin-receiving depres- 28 as shown best in Figures 6 and 6a. Thus at the lower portion of the turntable the obstructing fingers 40 will permit the passage of dimes from the discharge passage as far as is permitted by fixed abutment elements 55 and 56.

From an inspection of Figure '7, it will be noted that the element 56 is inclined away from the edge of theturntable and leads a coin which is of sufiiciently small size to pass beyond the end of the finger 40 to be moved by the partition member 20 to the right thereof into engagement sions on the left hand side of the axis of rotation of the turntable, being lifted from the mass of coins and finally removed therefrom in flat condition until they reach the point 21. From the point 21 they pass under and to the right of the partition 2' and follow down behind it in fiat condition and out of contact with the coins in the hopper into the position where by gravity they may pass out beyond the point 210 into the discharge passages-formed between the partition elements 20, thus leaving contact with the turntable but being impelled therearound while in engagement with the wall member 2 by the parti-. tion elements 20. These partition elements are arranged sufficiently far apart to receive coins of the largest diameter which the machine is to handle, and means are provided by which the exit ends of the discharge passages may be blocked off to predetermined extents so as to first permit the escape therefrom of small diameter coins, should these happen to be in any of the discharge passages, these discharge openings be.- ing progressively increased in size in accordance with successively increased diameters of coins of the different denominations, so that the coins of the several denominations are discharged from the discharge passages at different angular positions therearound.

The means for restricting the discharge openings of the passages comprise baiile fingers 40 which are pivoted on enlarged diameter portions 4| of the screws 2| which hold the partition elements 20 attached to the turntable In. Each finger 4a is normally pressed toward its most restricted discharge position as by means of a coil pring 42 surrounding the pivot screw 2| beneath its head, and a stop pin 43 projecting from the partition element 20 with which may be engaged a rearward extension 44 of the finger 40, limits the extent of this restriction to such a point that the discharge opening for the discharge passage permits the passage between it and the next adjacent element 20 of coins of the smallest diameter intended to be handled by the machine. Thus it may be sufiiciently open to permit the discharge of dimes, but is too restricted to permit the discharge of nickels, quarters, or any coin of with a star counter wheel 59, the pressure of the finger back of the coin forcing the coin past and turning this counter wheel and into a discharge passage 60. This passage 60 extends through the plate member 2 and leads through a suitable conduit 6| to a chute 62, at the lower end of which a bag or other suitable container for the coins at 63 may be secured.

' Should a coin be positioned between a partition member 20 and its oppositely disposed restricting finger 40 of sufficient diameter to be held within the discharge passage by this finger, it is moved by the rotation of the turntable above a guide finger 65 and above a second guide member 66. The guide finger 65 is pivotally mounted for small extent of rocking motion limited by the stop 659 on one side and the ends of the members 20 above, this upward rocking permitting the coins escaping beneath it to pass by the counter wheel 59. As the finger 49 moves upwardly, its cam roller 45 engages the periphery of the cam element 50 which is shaped to rock the finger 40 to a predeterminedextent sufficient to open the end of the discharge passage to a size sufficient for a coin of the next larger diameter to escape therefrom, so that should a coin of this next larger diameter happen to be in the discharge passage, it is then allowed to pass out therefrom along the guide 56 and beneath the guide finger 660 similar to the finger 65 and is propelled therealong by the partition element 20 back of it past a second star wheel H: which it rotates one step. It is then dropped through the discharge opening 1| from which a conduit 72 (see Figure 2) leads to the hopper 13 similar to the hopper 62 and to which a container 14 may be temporarily secured for the reception of coins of the next larger diameter. If the coin in the discharge passage is too large to escape therefrom and engage the guide bar 66, it is carried around still further until the cam roller 46 on the obstructing finger engages a portion 16 of the cam 50 of larger diameter, whereupon the obstructing finger 40. is swung to a less obstructing position so as to allow a coin of the next larger diameter to escape and engage a guide bar leading to a third star counter wheel 8| and a third discharge opening 82. This discharge opening 82 communicates through a discharg conduit 83 with a third hopper 84 to which a receptacle 85 for receiving the coins of the still. larger diameter maybe temporarily secured. Above'the opening 82 a guide finger 88 is positioned to guide the coins escaping from the discharge passages into the discharge opening 82 but as gravity component here is ineffective to press it toward the discharge opening 82, it is yieldingly held in this position by a spring 86.

As shown but three coin discharge openings are provided, the machine thus being restricted to the sorting of coins of three denominations, but more or less might be included if desired, to take care of coins of the particular denominations which it is desired to sort. For example.

the machine shown may be employed to separate and count dimes, nickles, and quarters.

As is usual with coin counting mechanisms employing start wheels, spring pressed pawls as at 90 may be employed to engage in succession with the recesses of the star wheels to prevent overrunning or other faulty actuation thereof by the coins, and the rotation of each of these star wheelsmay be imparted through suitable gears and shafts to counters indicated generally at 9!, 92 and 93. As shown these counters may be provided with a pair of indicator openings, the lower one being for indications of the number of coins passed and the upper ones being for indications of the dollar values of the coins so passed. Each of the dollar indication mechanisms may be connected together as by the shaft I and the sets of bevel gears IOI, I02, I03 and I04 with a shaft I05 by which when desired these dollar value counters may be returned to zero indication in a manner well known to those skilled in the art. As this mechanism forms a portion of the indicator mechanism which per se forms no part of the present invention, it has not been illustrated herein.

As many of the dials as it is desired to have readily accessible to the operator may be made visible through a cover member H5 (see Figure 1), which, with the cover member 28 may be employed to complete closure of the forward face of the machine to the desired extent. The turntable is rotated by mechanism shown in Figure 2, the shaft 8 being provided with a worm wheel I20 with which meshes a worm I2I on a shaft I22. This shaft I22 may be driven as by a motor I23 through a driving belt I24.

From the foregoing description of an embodiment of this invention, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A machine of the class described, comprising a coin-receiving hopper including as a portion of one wall thereof a rotary disk with which coins in said hopper contact, means for rotating said disk, said disk having a plurality of coinreceiving pockets arranged in circular series concentric to the axis of rotation of said disk, a plurality of pairs of partitions carried by said disk in I position to form coin discharge passages from said pockets, a stationary wall member adjacent to said disk and having a channel for the reception and passage of coins from said discharge passages as said passages are moved therepast as said disk rotates, a counter having an actuating star wheel projecting into said channel for operation by coins passed through said channel, one of each of said pairs of partitions projecting from said disk into position to engage a coin directed into said channel from its passage and positively feed said coin while so engaged past said star wheel.

2. A machine of the class described comprising a turntable provided with coin-receiving depressions having open outer ends in circular series and of sufiicient size to receive coins to be separated, a stationary wall member in substantial continuation of said turntable, wall members carried by said turnable and forming sides of passages leading from the open outer ends of said depressions and beyond the outer edge of said table and over said stationary wall member,

elements carried by said stationary wall member and defining between them a channel in substantial continuation of said passages when said passages are in certain angular position and into which channe1 said coins discharge from said passages, and a counter star wheel extending into said channel into position to be turned by the engagement of a coin propelled therepast by one of said turntable wall members as said turntable is rotated;

3. A machine of the class described, comprising a coin-receiving hopper including as a portion of one wall thereof a rotary disk with which coins in said hopper contact, means for rotating said disk, said disk having a plurality of coinreceiving pockets arranged in circular series concentric to the axis of rotation of said disk, a plurality of pairs of partitions carried by said disk in position to form coin discharge passages from said pockets, a stationary wall member adjacent to said disk and having a channel for the reception and passage of coins from said discharge passages as said passages are moved therepast as said disk rotates, a counter having an actuating star wheel projecting into said channel for operation by coins passed through said channel, one of each of said pairs of partitions projecting from said disk into position to engage a coin directed into said channel from its passage and positively feed said coin past said star wheel, said channel having a discharge opening and being partly defined by a wall member movable to enlarge said channel to a limited extent to permit a coin to pass between it and the start wheel in said channel and then to restrict said channel by engagement by said projecting partition after said partition has fed said coin past said star wheel and direct the counted coin into said discharge opening.

4. A machine of the class described, comprising a coin-receiving hopper includin as a portion of one wall thereof a rotary disk with which coins in said hopper contact, means for rotating said disk, said disk having a plurality of coinreceiving pockets arranged in circular series concentric to the axis of rotation of said disk, a plurality of pairs of partitions carried by said disk in position to form coin discharge passages from said pockets, a stationary wall member adjacent to said disk and having a channel for the reception and passage of coins from said discharge passages as said passages are moved therepast as said disk rotates, a counter having an actuating star wheel projecting into said channel for operation by coins passed through said channel, one of each of said pairs of partitions projecting from said disk into position to engage a coin directed into said channel from its passage and positively feed said coin past said star wheel, said channel being partly defined by a wall member movable to enlarge said channel to a limited extent to permit a coin to pass be? tween it and the star wheel in said channel and biased to hold the coin in contact with said wheel while passing said wheel, said wall member partition and coin constituting the sole means for actuating said star wheel.

JOSEPH N. FRANCIS. 

